The Blair Waldorf Complex
by Sugar Crush
Summary: Blair Waldorf was going to have sparks. And fireworks. And a goddamn bonfire with Nate Archibald if it killed her. B/C, B/N please R&R ;
1. Suspenders and Blue

Blair Waldorf was going to have sparks. And fireworks. And a goddamn _bonfire _with Nate Archibald if it killed her. It was time to bring out the big guns. Tossing her cardigan to the sofa and removing her hair tie to let her soft brown curls bounce freely down her shoulders to her chest, she felt ready. _Nate Archibald here I come._

"Nate, honey" Blair put on her best sultry voice and ran her hand down his exposed arm "Will you come with me for a moment?"

"Yeah. Sure" His jovial tone almost put her off her game entirely but she was determined. Taking his hand she led him, with swaying hips, across the room.

"Where are we going, Blair?" _What a surprise; he's confused_

"You'll see" She turned her head to look at him, biting her lip with her best 'ravish me' eyes. But Nate was in the middle of waving to some lacrosse teammate. _Typical_

They reached Chuck's room. Blair hesitated. It would be a cheap shot but as memories of _that's not the Blair I want_ came crashing unbidden to her mind; she pulled Nate inside with her.

His smell hit her almost immediately. The scent of expensive cologne, new clothes and that unidentifiable element which was so characteristically _Chuck _took over her senses. It emboldened her, reminding her of how she had relished the dirty encounters of the past. The thrill of the forbidden and the passion of sex. She turned to Nate, still staring at her confusedly, and saw how gorgeous he was. Soft hair falling across sea blue eyes, a chiselled jaw line and the stylish shirt which concealed that defined, flawless body.

She stepped closer to him and pushed his chest gently, guiding him towards Chuck's king-size bed. She bit her lip once more and stared up at him, seeing understanding dawn in his eyes and a vague, concealed lust darken them. _Now they were in business. _

She pushed his chest, not exactly gently, and he fell backwards heavily onto the dark sheets. As Blair knees touched the soft bed and began to crawl over him, she was instantly recalled back to previous times when she had done this very same thing. The very same scarf, that she had once pulled from around Chuck's shoulders and had draped seductively over her own body, was hanging upon the headboard in front of her. She recalled the look of absolute yearning that had filled her ex-lover's eyes and fancied that she saw the same thing in her ex-boyfriend's. She needed to be touched so badly.

Finally, Nate spoke. "Blair...what are you doing?"

"We are not leaving this room until we discover whether or not we have sparks"

"Oh" Nate carried on lying back and stared, confused, up at her. A frustration in her body began to develop. It resembled that same urgency for physical contact that had plagued her ever since Chuck had initiated her sexual awakening over a year ago. It was a feeling that she had loathed and yet been enraptured with. Tonight, it needed to be satiated.

"Well, don't just lie there. Do something" She couldn't keep the commanding note from her voice, though she knew Nate hated it.

"Like what, Blair? There's a party going on just behind these walls and we're in _Chuck's _room for God's sake"

_This was going wrong_. "Don't you find it exciting?"

Nate stared up at her. There had been something strange about Blair's expression. He had never before seen that wild look in her eyes and he was becoming more and more disturbingly aware of the possibility that it was being in Chuck's room which was causing her sudden and, to him, uncharacteristic, display of sexuality.

"Blair...what's going on?"

Nate was met with a cold stare and silence. Blair, who was still straddling him upon the bed, suddenly became sullen and dark. He tried to avoid looking at the tops of her black stockings which were revealed as her black dress had ridden up her thighs. Blair sure knew how to seduce a guy and despite his hesitations it took Nate a considerable amount of willpower to continue. "Don't you think we should work things out as friends first?"

Blair sighed, her posture sagging. Suddenly the presence of Chuck's possessions seemed to mock her. Why was she so incapable of making anything work out the way she wanted it to?

"I mean, maybe that's why we didn't work the first times...because we weren't friends."

Blair felt like crying.

Nate's stomach twisted at the sight of her downcast face which had been so full of life mere minutes ago. He propped himself up on his elbows so their faces were close together now so Blair could look at him closely. His eyes were unreadable. But not in a mysterious way. In a blank way. Doubt crept through her mind and her limbs felt awkward. Their surroundings suddenly seemed entirely wrong. She had to get out.

Her whirling thoughts meant that she barely heard it when the door was pushed open. She had just opened her mouth to communicate her regret and embarrassment to Nate just as he was moving closer to comfort her and just as....

"What the hell is this?"

The sudden exclamation made her jump and a creeping realisation struck her as an ache in the pit of the stomach. _No..._

Her head whipped round and she was met with the furious, blazing eyes of Chuck Bass.

"Uh..." She heard Nate stammer beneath her. _Beneath her...Oh God! _She had a sudden, unnerving feeling of looking down at herself from above; her dress had ridden up to the top of her thighs revealing her suspenders, her hair was wild and her legs were spread over Nate's horizontal body.

"Get out" Chuck's voice shook with suppressed anger. "Right now"

Blair didn't need telling twice. Dignity abandoned, she all but rolled off Nate. She even stumbled as her feet hit the floor. The sight of Chuck looking as angry as he did rendered her speechless and she hurried from the room, not daring to look back at him as she passed him in the doorway.

She bumped clumsily into Serena, who had been standing behind Chuck, as she made her hasty exit. Serena raised a disapproving eyebrow but all Blair could do was shake her head and run, ignoring Nate's call behind her.

He felt sick. This could not be happening. They were in his room. She was poised above him in the very position that she knew to be his favourite. Her gorgeous thighs were exposed but it was Nate that was below her. Nate whose fingers were touching her perfect waist. Nate who she was pressing herself onto. The scotch was burning his throat and an uncomfortable sliding feeling was occurring deep in his stomach. He was incensed.

_Mine. Not his. Not his._

He willed himself not to scream at Nate to stop touching her, to stop looking at her. Instead he managed to choke out

"Get Out" The two of them stared at him, dumbly. Blair's lips parted in shock. He saw pain in her eyes but he couldn't think about that, he just had to make them get out of his sight. "Right now"

They scrambled pathetically off his bed. Nate shot him a guilty look and Chuck glared back. He didn't care that Nate was his best friend and that Blair deserved a well-balanced, popular, sports-captain like him and not the broken shell that Chuck Bass had become. They were gone within seconds. The sound of Blair's heels across the hard floor seemed to reverberate through his head, causing it to throb and he pressed his hand to his eyes with an unsteady hand.

"Chuck..." It was Serena. He looked up at her. His step-sister was actually looking concerned. And he felt a surge of further unwanted emotion. "I don't know what they were thinking...I didn't even know anything was going on between them. That was totally out of order"

"She can do whatever she wants" His response sounded ridiculous as it left his lips. His voice had shaken slightly and his eyes were stinging. He felt ashamed.

Suddenly, he felt arms around him. He stood in shock for a few moments before wrapping his arms around Serena in return. Any other time he would have made some kind of filthy comment but this moment felt different. He needed her support.

"Don't worry, Bro. It will work out"

_Bro..._Chuck felt his body tense with emotion. His eyes were hot and he pressed his face against her shoulder.

He knew she was shocked by the way she suddenly gripped him tighter. _For fuck's sake, could this night get much more humiliating_? Chuck would have laughed had he not felt so utterly wretched. So completely fucked up beyond belief.

He had to break away soon, of course. Chuck Bass was not a hugger.

They broke apart. He kept his head lowered and tried to look as though he had ceased caring. There was only such shame he could handle in one night.

"Uhm...goodnight then" Serena stated. The mood was suddenly awkward. Probably because the absurdity of the situation was steadily becoming apparent. Their normal selves would have pissed themselves at the thought of Chuck Bass and Serena Van der Woodsen having an emotional moment.

Chuck nodded gruffly before stepping backwards into his room and quickly shutting the door. Once he heard Serena close the door to her own room, he allowed himself to breathe. What the hell was happening to him?

He struggled to put his emotional walls back up again. He attempted to think Chuck Bass thoughts....summoning memories of lost weekends, bottles of scotch, Victrola, South American women, air hostesses from Tokyo....but he was unable to silence the single word that was circling around in his head.

_Bro..._


	2. Eyeliner and Scotch

This is a further re-writing of The Remains of the J but with the background of Nate having been dating Jenny not Vanessa (because N/V on the series is depressingly dull!).

I'm not sure whether this chapter is C/B sacrilege or not but don't be too alarmed ;)

* * *

It was 4 in the morning when Chuck snapped out of it.

Was he really going to let that Queen Bitch and her pathetic attempts to create passion with her prince-fucking-charming reduce him, _Chuck Bass, _into drinking in the dark, alone, in the corner of his bedroom. He was practically a love-sick puppy. He might as well have swapped psyches with a fifteen year old Nathaniel Archibald pining over an unattainable beauty. The thought sickened him.

Before he allowed himself to acknowledge the fact that this state had been his reality long before he stumbled in on the love of his life straddling his best friend on his own bed he pulled out his phone.

Chuck knew that he wouldn't be the only person interested in revenge after being humiliated by the Disney 'Golden Couple'. Jenny Humphrey may be out of practice with scheming but she was hardly an amateur. And she just happened to be in the next room.

"Guess what, Little J? Nate lied to you. Looks like the Upper East Side Golden Couple are at it once again. Is revenge an option?"

Chuck lent his head back on the wall with a soft thud. He barely knew why he was texting Jenny Humphrey. Sure, he'd apologised for Kiss on the Lips but it was hardly something that she could easily forgive. Or _should_ easily forgive.

_Stop being a pussy, Bass_ The voice of his old self whispered as the all too familiar sting of self-loathing began to slice at his brain. Chuck clenched his jaw. He had to stop this Humphrey-esque inward reflection shit. Pointless revenge was always far more satisfying.

A knock. Chuck found himself lamely wishing that it was Blair. But he knew it wasn't as soon as the first pink-fully-slippered foot entered his room.

"Chuck." Jenny stood with arms folded in the doorframe. He squinted to see her face. The only light came from a dim orange light in the hallway. She was wearing a low slung black top with pink pyjama bottoms and Chuck was almost amused to notice that she'd also applied her, now trademark, black makeup to make herself look fierce. It was cute, really.

"You know the emo look is seriously undermined by bunny slippers."

Jenny's lips twitched. "It's not emo. And you know the crazy partyboy look is seriously undermined by you drinking alone. On a Saturday night."

Chuck gave a slow smile despite a small throb of shame. _Touché. _

"I'm glad being with downer Nate hasn't sapped your energy. You'll need it"

Jenny still stood, cautiously. "What do you know about Blair and Nate?"

"Well...I walked in on a rather uncompromising scene unfolding between the two of them this evening. On this very bed in fact"

Jenny's composure slipped and for a split second she looked stricken, before, in an admirable attempt at Upper East Side dignity, her face hardened.

"Harsh" She said simply through tight lips.

"Mm" Chuck emptied his glass. "Care to join me?"

With a lingering look, Jenny stepped forward and sat, crossed legged, in front of him. She had closed the door behind her, further darkening the room, so they were immersed only in silver moonlight.

"Nate told me that the reason he didn't want us to get back together had nothing to do with someone else. I should have known better." Jenny added bitterly before ignoring the glass Chuck was offering her and instead grabbed the bottle from the carpet.

She took a clumsy gulp which was very nearly spewed right back out over Chuck's shirt. Wincing at the burn she exclaimed hoarsely "How do you drink this?! Disgusting!"

Chuck gave a huff of laughter and ignored her undignified display. "So...you want to get back at him?"

Jenny took another gulp with black rimmed eyes tightly shut. "Yes. And you do too right?"

"Yes" Chuck stated. "Help yourself by the way" He added sarcastically as Jenny placed the crystal decanter to her lips once more.

"Please. I've seen your liquor cabinet. It's not like you're gonna run out anytime soon." She stated disparagingly "So...do you have a plan? What do you wanna do?"

"I have no fucking clue"

Jenny suddenly let out a high pitched giggle and wobbled slightly. At the sight of Chuck's raised eyebrow, she exclaimed. "Hey...I haven't had much to eat today!"

She began to shuffle across the carpet towards him and Chuck realised that those swigs of scotch were certainly not her only drinks that night. Sweet sixteen indeed.

There was a dark pause before Jenny broke it with a suddenly small voice:

"Do you think I'm pretty?"

Chuck raised an eyebrow and replied nonchalantly "Of course"

"Why doesn't Nate want to be with me?" Her tone was quiet and strange. Chuck stared at her; she cut a vulnerable figure clad in cotton pyjamas and clutching a swilling bottle of scotch. For a moment he felt transported back to a time when another sixteen year old had asked him the very same question. Blair had sounded just as lost and small as the confused and lonely Jenny Humphrey who was sitting on his plush carpet sharing his single malt. Chuck was filled with an even more intense detestation of Nathaniel Archibald

"Nate fucks people over. I guess it all makes sense in his head."

Somehow in her shuffle towards him her elbow had given way and she toppled sideways. Chuck grabbed hold of her shoulders before her face could hit the floor.

"How much have you had, Littl..."

His words were cut short by Jenny's mouth which appeared from nowhere to fasten themselves to his. The kiss was clumsy as her bottom lip crashed into his top and her hands wrapped around the back of his head. Clumsy and brief. Blue eyes opened wide beneath a severe platinum fringe as Jenny drew back suddenly.

Jenny's heart was pounding against her chest as though it were trying to be free itself from Chuck Bass' bedroom. She stared into his dark, hollowed eyes as he stared right through what she was; a skinny, ruined, artificial construct of what she wanted to be.

With an open, pinstriped shirt and hair hanging loose shadowing his eyes, Jenny felt a strange attraction. Though that was not enough to explain her reckless abandon of the mistrust she had held for him, it still made her feel a rush of excitement. Nate had awakened her and her body did not want to return to dormancy.

"I'm sixteen you know." She breathed.

"I know." Chuck whispered. "Happy birthday" A lump was rising in his throat.

_Fuck...is this really Jenny Humphrey? _She had none of the sugary, blue-eyed innocence which always used to characterise her. She was dark, sultry, _electric. _And coming closer.

She slid her body over his to capture his hips between her legs and position her pelvis over his own. The action sparked a small panic within him but he didn't tell her to stop. In the half light, the slim body could be that of the one he needed it to be. And he knew that in the same light, his could be that of the one she needed it to be.

"...so where's my birthday present?"

With that their pale lips met. Their alcohol-laced breaths collided in a strange, feverish mimic of passion. Chuck's fingers crept onto her slowly rocking hips and his tongue laced against hers. Jenny's black-nailed fingers explored below to untuck his shirt and push her hands upwards across his hot chest.

It felt so wrong but neither one had the strength to stop. Finding oblivion in the hot, wet collision of sex was better than facing the emptiness of lying alone. Chuck finally sank back into autopilot and felt more relief in the comfort of familiarity. It wasn't Jenny Humphrey's top he was removing; it was anybodies.

Jenny unbuttoned his shirt as Chuck pressed over-used lips to the tops of her breasts. As he did so, however, he became uncomfortably aware of a certain other over-used part of his body that was not following routine. Seeing Blair with someone else always had this despised effect.

Jenny's smell was not Blair's intoxicating one. The skin he was stroking was not the silky perfection that was the body of Blair Waldorf. The sound of Jenny's breathing did not set his mind aflame like hers did. The lump in his throat turned to an uncomfortable weight as his hands slackened. He was in love with Blair which meant the taste of another was ash.

Jenny felt the change in his body and stopped. She lowered her eyes to his and saw the dimmed, faraway look in his as he suddenly rubbed his hand across his face.

She understood.

"I can't" Chuck stated, feeling an utter fool.

"Oh my God..." Jenny put an unsteady hand to her eyes as she wriggled backwards off him and onto the floor. She began frantically pulling on her discarded top. "I don't know what just came over me. Oh my god!" Her voice was cracking and Chuck felt himself succumbing once more to his wretched state of alcoholic misery. He watched with guilty eyes as Little Jenny Humphrey started to cry before him and knew he was powerless. Just as he had been powerless to stop himself from destroying the girl he loved, or from interfering in his father's marriage or even from overdosing in a dank hotel room in Thailand, he was powerless now to stop the crushing pain of the sixteen year old girl who had only ever wanted to find herself.

"Everything I touch turns to shit." Chuck found the words leaving his lips before he'd even thought them. Pins and needles were creeping across his knees as Jenny lifted her head from her hands to look at him in startled surprise. She remained silent, cautious.

"Don't torture yourself, J. You may feel fucked up but the truth is that you're far cleaner than the rest of us." Chuck's dark eyes flicked to her astonished face. "And you should try to keep it that way for as long as you can. You're lucky"

Jenny clambered from the floor. She felt like a child next to the brooding mass of dark matter that was the remains of Chuck Bass. She had never known him (or ever wanted to) but she had become suddenly and uncomfortably aware that there were deeper, and more disturbing, levels to the Upper East Side predatory party boy. Being turned down and understood by him was testament to that fact.

Chuck looked away again and his expression became unreadable once more as he began to focus on the steady refastening of his shirt buttons. His fingers were only halted when Jenny spoke a final word from the doorframe.

"Thanks."

* * *

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I present this as a valid alternative to Chuck and Vanessa's gross hook up :)


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